Tre Brown might just be the answer to Seahawks cornerback woes

Seahawks cornerback Tre Brown finally got a chance to play in week 6 of his rookie season. He showed he is worthy of starting in the NFL. Brown has been injured and unable to play so this isn’t an issue of Seattle simply making a bad decision of not playing Brown, he wasn’t available.

But he was against the Steelers. The Seahawks didn’t play him much early in the game and, to be fair, Seattle probably wasn’t sure what they would get from Brown. Rookie corners can be burnt on deep passes as they may not be familiar with the communication a secondary needs to succeed.

But Seattle’s secondary hasn’t succeeded this year. Quandre Diggs has been OK at free safety but Jamal Adams has vastly underwhelmed at strong safety. D.J. Reed has been up and down at one corner spot but whoever has played his opposite has been bad. Heck, the Seahawks have already released Tre Flowers who started the first three games.

Tre Brown needs to start at corner for the Seahawks

Part of what made Seattle’s Legion of Boom so successful in the early 2010s was that most of the players played with the proverbial chip on their shoulders. 12s heard that Tre Brown played this way in college at Oklahoma as well. But it wasn’t until a tackle by Brown against the Steelers in week 6 that stopped Pittsburgh from getting a first down that made us realize, “Whoa, this is what we have missed!”

Far too often this year and in recent years under defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. we see Seahawks corners play off, allow a few yards and then make tackles after a team has picked up the first down. What Brown did on Sunday versus Pittsburgh was a reminder of how things should be done.

But Brown didn’t just make that one tackle. He earned a grade of 72.3 from Pro Football Focus. Brown played 40 snaps. He allowed 2 catches of 5 targets but just 9 yards. There was one deep sideline pass that Brown was a bit behind the receiver that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger overthrew for an incompletion. But it would have needed to be a good throw that most quarterbacks can’t make anyway. Brown played the angle and played it pretty well.

Brown’s grade of 72.3, even in limited time, is the best of any Seahawks corner this year. If Brown had enough required snaps and still graded at 72.3 that would be the 23rd-highest grade in the NFL and that is really good.

My point in all this is that in what might already be a lost season and as bad as Seattle’s corners have been, Tre Brown needs to play, start and get a bunch of snaps. He could be the future of Seattle at corner. And even if he messes up a bit now, he is still likely better than whatever other player Seattle has.